two episodes into the show Dragon Zakura, and i feel like... shit?

the drama's supposed to be a comedy, but it's not all about humor. i actually feel a dull resignation towards it, and towards the reality of life in general.

the skinny:

Ryuzan high is a famous school for the 'stupid' and the 'losers'. currently it faces bankruptcy, and while the chairman of the school is totally useless, the teacher's only care about themselves (and losing their jobs; they can hardly be called educators). the average score of the students from Ryuzan high is 36, while the average score of the prestigious school beside Ryuzan high is 75. the teachers think that the students are hopeless, yet at the moment they are more concerned about losing their jobs if the school closes.

this lawyer, his name is Kenji, is in charge of this school and this case but he wants to help the school out of crisis. so, he becomes like a 'teacher' and creates this re structural programme for the school by forming a special class. students in this special class will be aiming for Todai, the best university. he had actually brought up the idea of this programme in an assembly (where hardly any of the students were listening) and he was all direct about it, calling the students 'losers' and saying that society is such that the intelligent writes the rules of a society, and it will work to their benefit. therefore the stupid will always lose, they will always be cheated (stuff like insurance, taxes, interest etc). the only real way to stop living such a cheated life is to study, be smart, and get their asses to Todai.

but since this school is for the 'losers', teachers and even the students themselves think that they're too 'stupid' to qualify for Todai. Kenji wants to prove them wrong and first he has to recruit students into this special class first but no one wants to enter.

what happened so far (two episodes in):

Kenji first has an encounter with a student called Yusuke and has been targeting him to enter his special class ever since.

Yusuke has his own band and in the band he actually plays the trumpet. his father left the family recently, leaving his mother and him to clear the debts. he's always getting beaten up by creditors and they always come over to his house and harass his mom. they owe the creditors a total hefty amount of 3 million yen. they keep borrowing loans and stuff and can no longer pay back so everything in their house now does not belong to them but to the bank. to solve this problem, Yusuke decides to stop school, quit the band, sell his beloved trumpet for some money, and start working.

Yusuke sold his trumpet to a second hand shop. the owner offers him only 30 000 yen and he is shocked because he had bought it for 280 000 yen. he takes up the offer anyway since he's desperate for money. another day when he comes back to the shop, he discovers that his trumpet has been sold for 180 000 yen and he's upset by that. he suddenly recalls Kenji's words about being cheated. in any case, there's nothing he can do. he works at a construction site for measly pay.

one day when he comes home he finds Kenji in his house, and Kenji offers to help his family with the 3 million yen debt. he says that he will buy Yusuke's life for 3 million yen, and in return he will join his special class and aim for Todai. Kenji goes on to add that in actual fact his life right now as a 'loser' is not even worth 1 yen. Yusuke, agitated, wants to beat up Kenji but Kenji takes out the cash to show him that he's for real. however Yusuke is stubborn and he refuses to accept the money and be bribed like that. he says that he will not succumb to money in this manner. Kenji proceeds on to say really honest things, like even if Yusuke continues to work he'll never be able to pay off the interest that keeps snowballing and that the initial debt will still be there; he's cheated. he also says that even a bad punk with a bastard of a father, born in a poor family where he has been forced to move out of his home and squat on the streets, just by taking an exam and getting into Todai, will have a shot at turning his life around 180 degrees.

he then wants an answer from Yusuke, and for every five seconds he wastes, he will rip up a 10 000 yen bill. Yusuke at that moment is so frustrated and miserable because he refuses to be bribed like this and he's got more backbone than to accept other people's cash, saying that Kenji's method is underhand and dirty (he's a lawyer you know, but he doesn't seem like one). Yusuke's mother, who's really helpless, suddenly bows to Kenji and says that she will do whatever she can to ensure that their family has a happy life; she doesn't want to continue living a life in debt but Kenji apologises and says that the deal is only 'between him and Yusuke' as he wants Yusuke to make his own decision. he then turns to Yusuke and says, 'this is the reality of your life. do you still want to refuse changing the reality of your life?' Yusuke at that moment is so overwhelmed (angry and upset) that he wants to cry. he punches the floor repeatedly and trust me i thought that scene was hard to watch because i know what it's like to do something totally against your will but you know you have no choice. plus, he was really pressured for an answer. Kenji had counted out loud every five seconds and ripped a total of 3 10 000 yen bills in front of Yusuke. everytime a bill was ripped, it seriously wasn't nice to watch. if i were Yusuke i'd feel like beating the shit out of him for pushing me to the limits.

whether Yusuke agreed because he really wants to turn his life around and realises that he really cannot repay the debt by working alone or he's just agreeing for the sake of his mom we won't know, but Yusuke then becomes the first student in this special class.

the drama's portraying nothing but the truth, and it doesn't make me happy :\ sucks, doesn't it? and it's so ironic, it's labeled as comedy. i don't see anything funny so far.

{ C }
the kind of girl who mopes around about stuff ALOT
& somedays on mute mode

A LEFT-HANDER WHO FEEDS ON JROCK :D

Is a caffeine addict, & doesn't mind giving up talking for good. With not much self-confidence to start with, her ugly teeth upset her a lot but she plans to do nothing about it. Cheap thrills include rainy days, graphic designing, writing & a little dosage of her jrock darlings. Can conjure up some really good shit in her mind sometimes, but has problems putting them onto paper and into reality. Overall an average kid who's neither here nor there in everything she does, & gets bothered by it sometimes. Has trouble finding her direction in life. Mostly negative and wishes to be more apathetic. Currently finding a way to start a new life in Japan, with a different name.

Still likes to talk to inanimate things like her stuffed penguin.

♥REITA,
just because.

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